The college's financial aid office granted an appeal to about 1,800 students whose federal grants were being questioned. An audit showed the school had no right to grant those appeals. It had to pay back $4.2 million.

Interim President Will Holcombe said going after the students for that debt is required by Florida law.

"Which says that we must do everything within our power to collect a debt," Holcombe said.

That's not good enough for students like Randy Durden, who owes $1,600.

Durden has started an online petition to try to convince the school to absorb the debt. He's also started a Facebook page and, with other students, plans to file a class action lawsuit against the school.

"They've not only done me wrong, they've done 1,800 other students wrong," Durden said. "And this isn't just for me, it's for everybody."

Durden said he and his fellow students feel the school lacks compassion.

"We do have compassion for their situation. We're trying to act that way," Holcombe said. "Does compassion mean we're going to forget about it? We can't do that."

What the president says he can do is allow the students a 90-day grace period to sign up for a payment plan, interest free up to 10 years, and then they can keep going to school and get their transcripts.

He said he's not waiting until a board meeting March 12 to get board approval for that plan. He's just doing it. The 90 days started Friday.

Students said they will be showing up to that board meeting to voice their opinion.

Copyright 2013 by News4Jax.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Comments

The views expressed below are not those of News4Jax or its affiliated companies. By clicking on "Post," you acknowledge that you have read the Terms of Service and your comment is in compliance with such terms. Readers, please help keep this discussion respectful and on topic by flagging comments that are offensive or inappropriate (hover over the commenter's name and you'll see the flag option appear on right side of that line). And remember, respect goes both ways: Tolerance of others' opinions is important in a free discourse. If you're easily offended by strong opinions, you might skip reading comments entirely.